Seashore wants wind, solar power for Herring Cove site

Snacks for sunbathers at the Cape Cod National Seashore's Herring Cove Beach may be provided in coming years with the help of wind and solar energy.

PROVINCETOWN — Snacks for sunbathers at the Cape Cod National Seashore's Herring Cove Beach may be provided in coming years with the help of wind and solar energy.

Seashore officials are seeking comments from government officials about a plan to construct a 75-foot wind turbine to generate electricity for the seasonal snack bar, restrooms and lifeguard office, according to Seashore Supt. George Price.

Seashore officials will have to get permission to build the turbine from the Federal Aviation Administration, given the nearness of the Provincetown Municipal Airport, and from state and federal agencies concerned about plants and wildlife, he said.

The upcoming renovation of the 1950s-era concession building and outdated power lines prompted Seashore officials to consider wind and solar technology, Seashore maintenance chief Ben Pearson said. The new technology would cost about half the $200,000 needed to replace the power lines, he said.

If approved, this would be the first use of wind and solar energy to power a National Seashore building, he said.

A nonprofit that runs the Race Point Light, on U.S. Coast Guard property near Herring Cove Beach, also gets its electricity from a wind turbine, he said.